Even if Richie Porte quitted the Giro d’Italia, for Dave Brailsford, the Australian rider stay on of the best stage race cyclists. Now, he will focus on the Tour de France according to the general manager, interviewed by Velonews.

"Despite the last two weeks, he’s been one of or maybe the best stage racers of the season. You can’t judge Richie on the last two weeks given the start of the season that he had", he explained. "It’s very easy just to say, ‘He didn’t finish, he had his opportunity [to lead a grand tour team], and it didn’t work out,’ but it’s not fair to write him off in that sense. It’s not fair or appropriate."

This season, Porte finished second in the Tour Down Under and fourth in the Volta ao Algarve. He won also Paris-Nice, the Volta a Catalunya and the Giro del Trentino. "He was up there with the best climbers in the races he did. Can he put it together for three weeks, who knows? He had his crashes and incidents, et cetera, but it wasn’t that he got dropped. It wasn’t physical, but of course it all counts."

Last year, Porte was the Team Sky’s leader at the Giro d’Italia. But he fell sick and was called off the race. In the Tour de France, he was Team Sky’s plan B. Chris Froome abandoned, but he could not do his best because of a pneumonia.

"Last season and this season are two separate things. To be fair to Richie, he went to the Tour in support of Froomey, he had a challenging season. Whereas this year, it’s probably his best-ever season in terms of the first half, he won three big races, all the queen stages, he felt great", Dave Brailsford explained. "He came to the Giro as the leader, which was different. Your level of expectation and where you are at is mentally different than going into the Tour and finding yourself as plan B."

"It’s important that he finds for himself … A rider has to be motivated from inside for the goal, and I think he is [for the Tour],” added Brailsford. "They have great memories, him and Froomey riding together in the Tour, that’s something he can get excited about."